Portrait of Gianna

Please enjoy my living portrait of this lovely young lady as she has grown from infancy to adorable young lady.

Gianna's State Award

On June 5, 2024, my granddaughter, Gianna, had the incredible honor of being recognized at the Arizona USA Gymnastics Awards Banquet, held at the elegant DoubleTree Inn by Hilton in Mesa.

Gianna's 9th Birthday Party

Gianna's instructions to her dad regarding the party at his house for her ninth birthday: "Please, Daddy, nothing too girly!" And he came through like gangbusters.

Gymnastics Practice and Meet

I was visiting the kids the other day and got some videos of Gianna practicing dismounts for today's meet.

Gianna's 8th Birthday Party

If my daughter wasn't a therapist already, as I've often told her, she should be an event planner. Today's event was her daughter's eighth birthday party, a skating party.

Gianna's Inner Squad Meet

As you know from these pages, my talented granddaughter, Gianna, is a gymnast. Not a "budding" gymnast, but quite an accomplished one, having been studying it since she was 6 months old (in a program called Gymboree). She began an actual gym class at 1 year. (I'm not sure I could walk at one year!) She started with Arizona Dynamics in 2015. Today was the first meet of the season, and I caught photos and a couple videos of her on each of the events.

Catching Up With Gianna

I frequently get photos of Gianna taken here or there; and I feel like I now have enough to actually make it worth putting them on a page. These pictures were taken between April and June of this year.

Medals for Gymnastics

While I miss living on Maui, I do not miss missing out on my grandkids' milestones. Take today, for example: My youngest granddaughter, Gianna, who is still in first grade, has been taking gymnastics for awhile, now; and today I not only got to see her perform, I got to see her win medals!

Gianna's Gymnastics

When Gianna's mother, my daughter Jennifer, was about five years old, she greeted me one day when I came home from work by doing a backflip. Perfectly. When, I, in astonishment, asked where she'd learned to do such a thing, she said, "I saw it on television." When I went inside, sure enough, I saw gymnasts on the TV. It was the Olympics!

Super Gianna

Since, among other things, Gianna would like to be a superhero (that's in addition to a princess, and a puppy), I decided to make her a canvas print of her as one. She chose the name Starshine. I'll present it to her as a Christmas gift.

Gianna's 5th Birthday

Gianna's 5th birthday party was held at home this year, and featured Gianna's friends from school and the children of Jenny's mommy friends, as well as family.

Gianna's 4th Birthday

Last year, Gianna's party was such a success that her mother decided to hold this year's in the same venue, Charming Pony Parties. In attendance were Gianna's friends from school and the children of Jenny's mommy friends, as well as family.

Gianna Digital Art

I took so many photos of Gianna and they were so cute I couldn't leave them alone. So, here's digital art inspired by them.

Papa And Gianna Have A Visit

I missed visiting my grandbabies last week but wasn't about to miss a second week! So today I got to visit with them, although little Dominic had to take a nap shortly after I arrived. But that's okay; it allowed me to spend more time with Gianna. And take pics, of course; but in most cases I used the photos as a starting point for digital art. See what you think.

Gianna's First Music Recital

Gianna's pre-school had a music recital for Thanksgiving. The main song appears to be derived from "The Hokey Pokey".

Gianna On The Run

I got to spend a few hours with Gianna. At 3, she's gotten to be quite the conversationalist. She also loves to run and jump and was eager to show me what she could do, followed closely by "Baby Bubba". We went outside the front door so she could race around the new fountain.

Gianna's 3rd Birthday Party

My daughter and Gianna's mother, Jenny, has become such an amazing party planner that I think she should take it up professionally. For example, she managed to create a party that was…

• Near her home
• No cleanup or cooking
• Absolutely perfect for a new 3-year-old

The place is called Charming Pony Parties, and I think it is just about the cleverest idea for a business ever. More to the point, however, is how much fun the birthday girl, her friends, and the adults all had. (Granted, the adults' fun was mostly watching the kids be adorable; but that totally works for me!)

Gianna in Key West

My daughter, Jenny, has moved to Key West, taking my grandbabies with her. But that's okay, because I've been able to visit almost monthly to see them. The below digital paintings of Gianna were made from photos taken on my most recent trip in March/April.

Gianna's Playground

My granddaughter, Gianna, lives in a home with a generous back yard and lots of kid-gym equipment. Plus, she has attended many Gymboree sessions. So, she's pretty fearless and very determined. Which can scare the adults to death.

Gianna Visits South Mountain

We took her older brother Zach on hikes from before he could walk; but this was Gianna's first foray into the wilderness. Okay, it was just a few yards from the Box Canyon parking lot at South Mountain Preserve. But look how isolated it appears, and when one is two, appearances are all one needs.

Gianna Visits the Big Kid Playground

There are three playgrounds in Gianna's neighborhood, not including the one in her back yard. Today, Gianna, Uncle John, Ella, and myself took her to the "big kid" playground.

Gianna Visits South Mountain

We took her older brother Zach on hikes from before he could walk; but this was Gianna's first foray into the wilderness. Okay, it was just a few yards from the Box Canyon parking lot at South Mountain Preserve. But look how isolated it appears, and when one is two, appearances are all one needs.

Her First Easter Egg Hunt

My daughter, Jenny, and her husband Jimmy invited us to Easter breakfast, followed by Gianna's very first Easter egg hunt! Of course, she is not yet clear on the concept—she calls eggs "balls"—but she quickly got into the swing of things.

Gianna's Astrological Chart

You are known for being open, frank, outgoing and honest. At times, though, you are also blunt and quite indiscreet. Others have to learn not to take everything you say personally, because you usually do not mean any harm. You appreciate living your life in a straightforward and simple manner—you dislike social niceties and consider them to be hindrances to real communication. You have lots and lots of energy and tend to become quite restless if you feel confined. You demand the freedom to do as you choose—you must be self-directed or you feel trapped and anxious. With your abundant energy, you enjoy being outdoors, and you should be attracted to physical exercise or to those forms of sport which can help you burn off some of that excess energy. Very gregarious, you love to socialize—your innate enthusiasm livens up any gathering.

Gianna Is Born